Report: Realising the value of AI in IT and project delivery

Research commissioned by our parent company, ILX Group, among 600 IT and project leaders in UK organisations with 500+ employees explores the pressures shaping business transformation in 2026, including technical debt, skills shortages, legacy systems and the growing impact of AI.

The findings show that businesses are placing increasing importance on the technical skills that support stronger, more sustainable delivery. Programming is a priority skill for 66% of businesses, web development for 62% and coding for 61%.

These skills play an important role in helping teams build and maintain systems more effectively. Stronger coding practices, clearer documentation and more consistent development approaches can help reduce reliance on short-term fixes and limit the technical debt that can make future change slower, more complex and more expensive.

For businesses, this puts greater emphasis on developing practical technical capability across their teams. StayAhead courses in programming, web development, coding and other related technical disciplines are designed to give learners hands-on experience they can apply in their day-to-day roles, helping to improve technical foundations and support ongoing transformation.

Download the guide to explore the challenges businesses are facing in 2026, the technical skills they are prioritising and the practical steps they can take to build stronger capability for the future.